Chapter 80 – Journey to the Royal Capital 1 Part 1

Translator: SFBaka

Editor: Thor’s Stone

A group of more than a hundred people traveling down the road would definitely stand out, especially since it was just 7 in the morning, but once the crowd realized that we were Shining Star, they immediately made way for us. There were even some children who waved cheerfully at us, so I obliged them and waved back.

I thought the guards stationed at the city gate would stop us for a mandatory check, but when they realized that we were all from Shining Star, they immediately gave us permission to pass without a fuss.

Come to think of it, I did inform the Adventurer’s Guild that we were going on a trip today, but I forgot to inform Captain Guido and the city guards. I should probably greet him before heading out.

“Elna, I wanna stop by for a bit to give the city guards a heads up. Just go on ahead. I’ll run and catch up to you guys later, so you don’t have to wait for me.”

“Understood.”

I jumped off of the carriage and headed for the city guard barracks. One guard approached to see who I was, and when he recognized me, he immediately ran back inside the barracks. I’m sure he was going to call their captain.

After a short while, Captain Guido finally came out.

“Good morning, Captain Guido.”

“Ou. Are you guys going out to hunt monsters or bandits again?”

“Nah. We’ll be leaving the city for a while, so I came here to inform you about it. We’re heading for the royal capital.”

“Hou…… Why‘s that?”

“Actually, there are talks about me being granted a noble peerage. We’ll be heading there to hear more about the proceedings.”

“……I see. So that means I might have to go on one knee in front of you when we next meet huh.”

“I’m still not sure about what’s going to happen though. We’ll be out for about two to three months at least. I’ll be excusing myself then.”

“Ou. See you again.”

I ran and caught up to the rest of the group and found Adjutant Dalshim in the middle of reorganizing the formation. The baron’s carriage, as well as our party’s, were at the center of the formation while the rest of the wagons covered the front and rear. Riders escorted our carriages from the sides as well. The formation had no obvious gaps.

As expected of the former Royal Guards. They truly were professionals when it comes to escorting convoys and people of high station.

I finally caught up to our party’s own carriage and jumped up to the driver’s seat.

According to the travel arrangements Iris planned out, we should be arriving in the royal capital on the 27th. Of course, she had also taken breaks during the journey and camping grounds into account when she estimated our time of arrival.

We didn’t encounter a lot of cities and villages along the way. Perhaps it’s because monsters were relatively numerous in the areas around Gantz. So taking account of that, we would be camping out often in the first part of our journey and gradually transition to moving from city to city as we near the capital.

Two hours after we started our journey, the drone scouting from above managed to detect five Gray Hounds ahead of us. I watched the situation via the overhead map for a while and found that their movement patterns clearly changed. It looks like they managed to detect us already.

I called out to Adjutant Dalshim who was riding alongside our carriage.

“Adjutant Dalshim.”

I relayed the situation using hand signs and told him the monster type, their numbers, general direction, and estimated time of contact.

“Please leave them to us.”

Dalshim straightened himself up on horseback and began to relay hand signals commands to his men. The ten riders who received the orders ran ahead.

The battle was quick and the monsters were easily dispatched via consecutive magic spell bombardment. Unfortunately, one of the monsters seems to have gotten away.

We were finally nearing the first rest stop where we would have our lunch four and a half hours after setting off from Gantz. I called out to Dalshim once more to inform him.

“It’s a bit early, but we should take the opportunity to head to a stopover for lunch. The campsite is 200 meters away from our current position.”

“Understood. The three of you, come with me!”

After shouting for some of his men to follow after him, Adjutant Dalshim rode his horse ahead toward the campsite. Three riders hurriedly followed after him. It looks like they were going to scout it out first. Well, I already knew there were no problems via scanning magic though.

The section of road adjacent to the campsite was two to three times wider than the preceding sections for some reason. I’m not quite sure why that’s the case, but it was convenient since we didn’t need to break our convoy’s formation while we were having our lunch.

With Adjutant Dalshim and his men at the lead, the rest of the convoy was guided to the rest stop in an orderly sequence.

We stopped our carriage as well and got off. We then headed toward Baron Volker’s carriage.

“We were thinking of taking a break to have lunch here. Are you fine with that, My Lord?”

“If that’s what you suggest Alan-dono, then let us do so. Actually, there is no need to get permission from me. I will leave all the arrangements for this time’s journey to Alan-dono.”

“I understand. Please leave it to me.”

The lunch items we will be having were sandwiches that Head Chef Rotal and the rest of the staff got up early to make. They made more than enough for the Clan members, the baron, and his men.

I may have pushed the staff a bit in order to make these in time, but I also made sure to hand them generous bonuses before we left, so I guess it’s all good in the end.

We brought down foldable tables and chairs from the wagons and started assembling and arranging them in the campgrounds.

The baron’s attendants seem to be taking out bread from their carriage as well. They must be planning to have those for their lunch. I called out to them.

“My Lord, we’ve prepared some sandwiches for lunch. If you’d like, you can have them together with us. How about it?”

“Ooh! That sounds wonderful. Well then, I thank you for the treat.”

“Over here please. Your attendants can join us as well.”

I invited the baron to our table. But was it alright for his attendants to sit in front of the same table as their master?

The two attendants sat down together with the baron without hesitation. Oh, it looks like there’s no problem after all.

The meals were carried out of the wagons in bulk. Sharon and the others then received them and started transferring the sandwiches from the baskets to large plates. After pouring water into each of our cups, the meal preparations were finished. The rest of my party finally took their seats.

“I hope the meal is to your liking, My Lord.”

“Alan-dono, as I said before, I was just a commoner until five years ago. You do not have to behave so formally in my company. And besides, you’ll be a baron yourself soon and become one of my compatriots. There is no need to speak to me using formal speech as well.”

“……I understand. Well then, everyone. Let’s eat.”

The staff made us two kinds of sandwiches. One had eggs and one had potatoes as fillings. Both kinds had plenty of mayonnaise used on them as well. Un, they’re delicious.

“These are quite delicious! Alan-dono, just what are these dishes?”

“They are dishes from my hometown. I’m glad they’re to your liking.”

The two attendants also started wolfing down their sandwiches with gusto. Of course, we didn’t lose out to them either. The pile of sandwiches on the plates decreased at a fast rate.

“Hm. I’m sorry, but have we actually met somewhere before, young lady?”

The baron suddenly called out to Cleria, and she looked toward him with a puzzled and wary expression in response.

“No, I don’t believe we have, sir.”

“I suppose so. I would definitely remember it clearly if I ever met a young lady as cute as you in the past. But it strangely does feel like this is not my first time meeting you…… No, it’s nothing. I’m sorry for bringing up something so strange.”

“No, it’s alright.”

There’s no way for a foreign baron to have directly met with Cleria in the past after all. Well, I suppose he could if he was part of a diplomatic entourage or something huh. But I don’t think the baron is actually fit to be selected as a delegate though, so I’m sure he was just mistaken.